Bank Frick confirms trend in rising income
Bank Frick is very satisfied with the business performance and the annual results for 2019. All investments in holdings and subsidiaries made in the reporting year were financed from its own cash flow. Income continued to rise in all business areas. The annual results of CHF 3.7 million were slightly higher than the budgeted profit of CHF 3.6 million.
“We are very pleased that the trend in operating results continued to rise in 2019,” said Mario Frick, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Frick. “We were able to once again increase net income both in terms of commission income and trading activities.” This trend can also be seen in the annual results, which at CHF 3.7 million were slightly higher than the budgeted profit of CHF 3.6 million. “We formed two subsidiaries in 2019 – The DLT Markets AG and Distributed Ventures AG – and increased our holdings in Tradico AG and 21.finance AG. We financed all investments from our own cash flow. This makes us all the more satisfied with the results.”
Blockchain as an integral part of all business areas
“We are very pleased with the trend in gross income from commission and service transactions. In the reporting year, it exceeded interest income for the first time and was generated across all business areas,” noted CEO Edi Wögerer. “This clearly shows that our investments in recent years have paid off and that the developed business models are taking hold. Our approach of making blockchain an integral part of all business areas is bearing fruit.”
Income results in detail
Net income from commission and service transactions rose to CHF 12.7 million (2018: CHF 12.1 million).
Trading activities remained stable, growing by CHF 1.0 million to CHF 4.7 million.
Looking at interest income in recent years, a positive trend is also discernible here. However, Bank Frick was unable to match the result for the previous period (CHF 20.6 million), which benefitted from high extraordinary items. Interest income amounted to CHF 18.9 million in the reporting year.
As at 31 December 2019, the balance sheet total was unchanged at CHF 1.1 billion. In terms of assets under management, we posted a slight increase of CHF 75.5 million to CHF 2,733 million. Bank Frick was thus able to confirm the trend in rising client assets in the commenced financial year.
Outlook for the current financial year
Due to the global distortions triggered by the coronavirus, Bank Frick anticipates an extremely challenging year. Without the impact of the coronavirus, the Bank had expected net income of CHF 5.3 million in 2020. However, income positions are likely to be unusually volatile. They make it impossible to offer a precise forecast at this time.
About Bank Frick
Bank Frick specialises in banking for intermediaries. The Liechtenstein bank provides a fully integrated offering of classic banking and blockchain banking services. Its clients include fintechs, asset managers, payment service providers, family offices, fund promoters, pension funds and fiduciaries.
Bank Frick has been family-run since its foundation as a licensed universal bank in 1998, and it adopts an entrepreneurial approach. The Bank is currently under the majority control of the Kuno Frick Family Foundation (65 per cent). Net1, the Nasdaq-listed financial technology group, owns 35 per cent of its share capital. The Bank employs over 130 members of staff at its Balzers office and operates a branch in London, UK.
Bank Frick is one of Europe’s pioneers of the regulated blockchain banking sector. Its offering covers trading and custody of crypto assets, as well as token sales. The Bank also develops tailored crypto-structuring solutions for intermediaries.
In addition to its highly regarded basic services, Bank Frick’s classic banking offerings cover services for funds and issues, focusing on formulating European (AIF, UCITS) and national fund solutions. In the capital market sector, Bank Frick develops tailored financial products for intermediaries and supports them along the whole issue process, acting also as a custodian bank.
Bank Frick is the only Liechtenstein bank with acquiring licences from Visa and MasterCard, and it can process card payments globally for payment service providers and their online merchants.
Bank Frick established subsidiaries in 2019 to appear independently on the market with new services: Distributed Ventures AG, an incubator and accelerator to promote and finance fintech and blockchain start-ups, and The DLT Markets AG, which offers institutional investors professional access to digital assets. Also in 2019, Bank Frick took over the fintech company Tradico AG, which specialises in finance for goods purchasing for SMEs, and acquired a majority stake in the fintech company 21.finance AG, which operates area2Invest, a digital investment platform for classic and tokenised financial products.
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